GB2453520A

GB2453520A - Personal telephone call router

Info

Publication number: GB2453520A
Application number: GB0716950A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eduard Zanen; Bangjun Lei
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-08-31
Filing date: 2007-08-31
Publication date: 2009-04-15
Also published as: GB0716950D0

Abstract

A router for providing telephone communication between the user and a remote party, using first and second different types of telephone network services, comprising a first telephone network interface for coupling to a first type of telephone network service for establishing a first communications link with the user via the first type of telephone network service, a second telephone network interface for coupling to a second type of telephone service network for establishing a second communications link with a remote party via the second type of telephone network service and a controller for controlling the apparatus to route a telephone communication received via one of the interfaces to another of the interfaces, wherein the first and second interfaces are different ones selected from: a landline type telephone network interface, a voice-over-internet-protocol type telephone network interface, and a cellular telephone transceiver for a cellular type telephone network, the cellular telephone transceiver having a SIM card port.

Description

1 2453520

PERSONAL TELEPHONE CALL ROUTER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of telephone communication using one of more of a cellular telephone network service, a VOIP telephone network service, and a landline telephone network service.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Mobile personal communication is overwhelming. VOIP (Voice Over IP) is Jo also becoming more and more popular. Short messages are being used extensively, although more types of services are offered in China than at least in Netherland. Those developments provide us with more possibilities of personal communications. Given that 3G is already at the horizon, more types of services will evolve in the near future.

is One biggest advantage of VOIP is that it is extremely cheap compared with the traditional telecom service especially for any long-distance telephone call.

This is why there are services that transform one long-distance call into one normal local call plus one VOIP call. To make a long-distance call, the user first calls one local router of the service provider. After being connected and verified (by entering a pre-given serial number), the user keys in the telephone number he/she wants to call. The router will then help to connect to the targeted remote party via a VOIP channel. The whole call connection procedure is shown in Figure 1.

The service in Figure 1 would save you a lot of budget when making long-distance calls. But this brings one disadvantage: Because the VOIP sits in between, the telephone number shown on the remote party's phone is one from the VOIP provider but not from the original calling party. Therefore in this call conversation the identity of the calling party is lost.

Till now, the only way to enabling display of the original calling party is direct call. This may be acceptable for people who always stay in one fixed area. For frequent travelers with a mobile, however, an extra charge named roaming cost will be incurred. The roaming cost arises whenever you make a call or accept a call while you are not at your mobile's local place. The mobile's local place is normally the country (in Europe) or a limited area (in China) where you buy your SIM card. Nowadays the roaming cost is found to be more expensive than the call itself. And, with a direct call, other people can easily trace where you are by hacking into the telephone system.

To ease a frequent traveler with using the mobile, a convenient service is offered by Amatus (www.amatus.nI). This service enables the user to make calls in different countries via the local telecom service. This is achieved by installing multiple SIM cards in one mobile and turning on corresponding SIM card when the user enters into a country. This indeed makes a frequent traveler's telecommunication life much easier. However, the user will have multiple mobile identities and from the displaying of each identity on the called party's telephone, the called party can easily tell where the caller is. And, the cost for making calls is not very cheap, because in addition to the calling tariff the user has to pay a fixed fee for every SIM card he/she is using.

The present invention has been devised bearing the above issues in mind.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the invention are defined in the claims.

Other aspects of the invention will be apparent to the skilled man from the following description and drawings. The Applicant claims protection for any novel feature or idea described herein andfor illustrated in the drawings whether or not emphasis has been placed thereon.

In one form, we designed a device called Personal Mobile Router (PMR) that can make the use of mobile more cost efficient by taking advantage of the cheap VOIP service. At the same time, all telephone routing operations happen within this device and therefore nobody can trace your location any more. There are various forms of this PMR device. Different form has different usability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of transforming a long-distance call into a local call plus a VOIP call.

Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of a first embodiment in the form of a PMR form with a landline phone, a control & Interconnection module, a mobile module, and a VOIP module (optional).

Figure 3 is a schematic flow diagram showing the processing procedure when receiving a call at the mobile.

Figure 4 is a schematic flow diagram showing the processing procedure when making a call via the PMR.

Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of a second embodiment in the form of a PVD that contains a landline phone module, a control & Interconnection module, and a VOIP module (optional).

Figure 6 is a flow diagram showing the processing procedure on a PVD when the user makes a call through it.

Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a basic form implementation that may be used for the implementation of the first embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

First Embodiment: Basic Form: Figs. 2-4 & 7 The basic form of PMR aims to serve as the user's personal mobile switcher at his/her original resident place. When he/she leaves for other places, he/she puts his/her SIM card into the PMR. Then all calls to his/her mobile will be routed through this PMR device to any other phones he/she designated (locally or remotely through the telephone line or Internet). Inversely, he/she can call his/her friends using any telephone through this PMR and on the telephone of his/her friends the same mobile number will present, giving impression that he/she always calls with the same mobile.

This basic form contains a landline phone module, a control & Interconnection module, a mobile module, and possibly a VOIP module. They are connected together as shown in Figure 2. (Note that the whole system can s be realized completely in hardware or completely in software with an appropriate PC and suitable interface card (for communication and SIM card installation), or partly in hardware and partly in software.) All calls to the mobile module (actually to the SIM card) will be further connected to another pre-designated telephone via the interconnection module and the landline telephone module (or the VOIP module). When the user wants to make a call through his/her mobile, he/she calls first this PMR device at the fandline telephone number or connects to the VOIP module through certain VOIP service (if VOIP module is present), then the connection will be furthered to the mobile module to make the real call.

At the VOIP module (if present) the user can set any VOIP service that he/she prefers and has subscribed to. When no SIM card is in the mobile module, the router is in "at local" mode. In this mode the PMR is just a normal landline telephone and VOIP phone (if the VOIP module is present). The user's travel process starts as (but of course not limited to this): 1. When the user leaves for other countries or places, he/she puts his/her SIM card in the mobile module. This will automatically turn the router in "on traveling" mode.

2. When she/he arrives at another country or place, he/she tells the router in certain way (e.g. through the router's telephone connection) his/her reachable telephone number (mobile or landline, in this case the VOIP service can also be used because more and more services provide PC-to-Phone possibility) or VOIP account (if VO1P is present and therefore a PC-to-PC call can be utilized here to connect this PMR to the user when someone calls him/her). At the same time he/she sets the router in "at abroad" mode.

3. If he/she goes for another country or place, he/she again sets the router in "on traveling" mode.

4. If he/she returns to his/her own country or place, he/she takes out his/her SIM card and the router in "at local" mode (this can also happen automatically), otherwise goes back to step 2.

(Note: All "setting" actions in the above process can be either pre-performed or performed upon needed via the telephone connection or a possible website provided by the router's provider.) Given above settings, when anybody calls the user at his/her mobile, the router handles this call as in Figure 3. It can be clearly seen that in this case the router can either serves an answering machine (when the user is in traveling. Note that the message played to the caller can be pre-configured by the user) or routes the incoming call to the user's current accessibility (landline, mobile, or VOIP account). The routing happens inside the PMR so the caller cannot trace where the user is at this moment.

On the other hand, when the user wants to call another landline or mobile at his/her original place, he/she can first call the landline telephone module (or VOIP module) in his/her router. The router will then proceed as in Figure 4. By doing in this way, the user can save expensive roaming cost without losing the ability of showing his/her identity on the callee's phone (because normally the identity is associated with the mobile number). In addition, the PMR can serve as a normal landline or VOIP phone for normal telecommunication.

As we mentioned in above discussion, the PMR is also an answering machine for the user's mobile. Using the telephone connection (or the VOIP connection), he/she can listen to messages that others left for himlher.

Further, a PMR website can be constructed. Each PMR user can apply for an account on this website and configure the account info in the PMR. After this, the user then will not only be able to configure his/her PMR on the website through his/her account, in his/her account he/she can also manage all messages in a more intuitive and efficient way.

Fig. 7 illustrates one example implementation of the first embodiment.

This example provides first and second SIM card ports for two different SIM cards, as explained later below.

Second Embodiment: Portable VOIP Device (PVD): Figs. 5 & 6 A PVD is the user's personal VOIP router that enables the user takes advantage of cheap VOIP communication, while using a mobile phone, or at least a SIM card, that is local for the region where the user is traveling. It contains a landline phone module, a control & Interconnection module, and a to VOIP module (optional) (see Figure 5).

When a user is in traveling, before leaving the hotel, he/she can connect the PVD to the telephone line (the landline telephone module) and the Internet socket (the VOIP module). Then he/she sets on the PVD that when his/her local mobile calls the landline of the PVD, the call will be diverted out (see Figure 6). On the other hand, whenever a call is received at the VOIP module of the PVD, it will be routed to the user's local mobile through the landline telephone module.

The PVD can also serve as a counter party of the basic form of the PMR to receive calls from a PMR or routes an incoming call on the landline further module to another PMR. One PMR and One PVD can work in one-to-one relation so that no verification is needed in the whole making call process (check Figure 4 and Figure 6).

More Variations The basic form and the PVD are specially designed for frequent travelers.

But PMR's applications are not limit to those two. There are more variations to the basic form that can be applied in different situations: 1. A PMR can have multiple mobile modules with SIM cards from different providers. When the user makes a call through the router, an appropriate SIM card can be selected to complete the call (one possible selection criterion might be the price). An example embodiment is illustrated in Fig. 7 2. The mobile module may also be replaced a landline module. In either case, employees in a company can call clients from anywhere with s showing at the client's side the same telephone number. This is especially good for small companies because in this case they do not need to install and maintain their own telephone exchange devices.

3. Video, SMS (Short Message Service), and MMS (Multimedia Message Service) can also be added into the basic form and the above variations.

Claims

1. Apparatus associated with a user for providing telephone communication between the user and a remote party, using first and second different types of S telephone network services, the apparatus comprising: a first telephone network interface for coupling to a first type of telephone network service for establishing a first communications link with the user via the first type of telephone network service; a second telephone network interface for coupling to a second type of to telephone service network for establishing a second communications link with a remote party via the second type of telephone network service; and a controller for controlling the apparatus to route a telephone communication received via one of the interfaces to another of the interfaces, wherein the first and second interfaces are different ones selected from: a landline type telephone network interface; a voice-over-internet-protocol type telephone network interface; and a cellular telephone transceiver for a cellular type telephone network, the cellular telephone transceiver having a SIM card port.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the interfaces is the cellular telephone transceiver.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first and second telephone network interfaces, and the controller, are housed in the same housing to form an integral device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein: the apparatus is configured for permitting the user to place or receive a telephone call associated with a SIM card located at a different physical location from the user, 9.

the first interface is selected from the landline type telephone network interface and the voice-over-internet...protocol type telephone network interface; and the second interface is the cellular telephone transceiver having a SIM card port for said SIM card.

5. The apparatus of claim I or 3, wherein: the apparatus is configured for permitting the user to place or receive a call via a local telephone number on the first telephone network service, the first interface is the landline type telephone network interface; and the second interface is the voice-over-internet-protocol type telephone network interface or the landhne type telephone network interface.

6 The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus comprises a memory for storing user contact information by which the user is contactable via the first telephone network service.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus is operable to determine whether a telephone call received by the first telephone network interface originates from the user according to the stored user contact information.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 or 7, wherein the apparatus is operable to establish the first communications link by placing a call on the first telephone network service using the stored user contact information.

9. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to control the first interface, in response to a telephone call received from a remote party via the second interface, to attempt to establish the first communications link for routing the received telephone call to the user.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured, in response to failure of establishment of the first communications link, to implement a telephone answering service for recording a message received from the remote party via the second interface.

11. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the controller is operable in a "non-contactable" mode of operation indicative of the user not being contactable, in which mode the controller does not attempt to establish the first communications link.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the controller, when operating in the "non-contactable" mode of operation, is configured to implement a telephone answering service for recording a message received from the remote party via the second interface.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 or 12, wherein the controller is configured to implement a management interface for permitting the user to remotely manage recorded messages.

14. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured, in response to receiving a telephone call from the user via the first interface, to make a new telephone call using the second interface, and to couple the communications links together.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the controller is operable to obtain destination information from the telephone call from the user, and to establish the new telephone call via the second interface using said destination information.

16. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the second interface

II

provides caller information corresponding to the address of the second interface on the second telephone network service.

17. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the cellular telephone s transceiver has a second SIM card port for a second SIM card.

18. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to manage electronic messages received through one or either of the interfaces.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the controller is configured to manage said electronic messages by one or more of: (i) storing the electronic messages at the apparatus; and (ii) forwarding the electronic messages to the other interface.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 or 19, wherein the electronic messages are one or more of: SMS; MMS; emails.

21. A telephone communication system comprising: a first apparatus at a first location, the first apparatus being as defined in any preceding claim; a second apparatus at a second location, the second apparatus being as defined in any preceding claim.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the second interface of the first apparatus is coupled to the same type of telephone network service as the first interface of the second apparatus.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein: in the first apparatus, the first interface is a landline type telephone interface and the second interface is a voice-over-internet-protocol type telephone interface; and in the second apparatus, the first interface is a voice-over-intemet-protocof type telephone interface and the second interface is a cellular telephone s transceiver for a cellular type telephone network, the cellular telephone transceiver having a SIM card port.

24 A method of telephone communication between a user and a remote party, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing at a location remote from the user and the remote party, a telephone routing device associated with the user, the device comprising a first interface for coupling to a first type of telephone network service for establishing a first communications link with the user via the first type of telephone network service; and a second telephone network interface for coupling to a second type of telephone service network for establishing a second communications link with a remote party via the second type of telephone network service; (b) establishing a first communications link between the user and the apparatus via the first type of telephone network service; (c) either before or after step (b), establishing a second communications link between the remote party and the apparatus via the second type of telephone network service; and (d) coupling the first and second communications links at the apparatus, wherein the first and second interfaces are different ones selected from: a landline type telephone network interface; a voice-over-internet-protocol type telephone network interface; and a cellular telephone transceiver for a cellular type telephone network, the cefiular telephone transceiver having a SIM card port

25 A method of operation of an apparatus for routing a telephone call between a wireless cellular telephone service and fixed network service, comprising: operating a cellular transceiver to register with the wireless cellular telephone service using a SIM card instailed at the apparatus; and in response to receiving a telephone call via the wireless cellular telephone service, routing a communications signal to a destination via a fixed network interface of the apparatus.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the apparatus further comprises a memory for storing destination information, and the step of routing comprises io routing the communication signal using the destination information stored in the memory.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the method further comprises receiving destination information to be stored in the apparatus, and storing the received destination information in the memory.

28. A method of operation of an apparatus for routing a telephone call between a wireless cellular telephone service and fixed network service, comprising: operating a cellular transceiver to register with the wireless cellular telephone service using a SIM card installed at the apparatus; in response to receiving a communication signal for a telephone call via a fixed network interface of the apparatus, routing the communication signal as the telephone call via the transceiver to the wireless cellular telephone service.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises receiving, via the fixed network interface, destination information for identifying the destination for the telephone call, and wherein the step of routing comprises operating the transceiver to establish a telephone connection to a telephone number identified by the destination information.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the destination information comprises the telephone number.

31. Apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.

32 A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.